After years of rejected applications, Kenya Airways has historically registered the first of direct flights from the country to the United States.
The feat is not something that comes easy for any African aviation authority to achieve, as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is very strict on African airports for clearance to fly directly to the US.
Kenya applied to the FAA in 2013 to be considered for Category One but the application was rejected. The following year, an audit of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was made and this resulted in a second rejection. Reason: the airport was found to be not fenced, without a separation between arriving and departing passengers, and had a number of houses built within its proximity.
Kenya reapplied in February last year and was awarded a Category 1 ranking, a qualification for direct flights to the US. This was followed by a permit, awarded in September this year, making the nation the ninth country in Africa to fly directly to the US.
Like we told you, this will be the fastest connection from East Africa to New York, with a 15 hours duration eastbound and 14 hours westbound.
Which other countries have direct flights to the US?
The other countries are: Senegal, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and Cape Verde. Ghana should be the eighth, but the country lost its Category 1 status in 2005 and was lowered to Category 2. This was after it was found to be non-compliant with international safety standards set by ICAO.
How does a country achieve Category 1 status?
The FAA conducts the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA), assessing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of each country that has carriers operating to the United States. This determines if the foreign CAA provides oversight to its carriers that operate to the United States according to international standards.
If the CAA meets standards, FAA gives that authority a Category 1 rating and that means the air carriers from the assessed state may initiate or continue service to the United States in a normal manner. However, if the CAA does not meet standards, FAA gives that CAA a Category 2 rating.
Category 2 means the air carriers from the assessed state cannot initiate new service and are restricted to current levels of any existing service to the United States while corrective actions are underway. During this time, the foreign air carrier serving the United States is subject to additional inspections at U.S. airports.
